The Patriots traveled back from Germany late last night, and when Bill Belichick met with the media on Monday morning, he wouldn’t commit to a starting quarterback. After Sunday’s horrific loss to the Colts in Frankfurt, he deflected questions surrounding the quarterback.
Belichick also mentioned on his weekly WEEI appearance that he had a conversation with Patriots owner Robert Kraft over the poor results.
The Patriots head coach pulled the third-year quarterback in the final drive of the Colts contest on Sunday morning. Bailey Zappe entered the game and threw a game-ending interception after failing a fake spike. The reason for the benching is unknown, but Belichick said it was “time for a change several times.”
“We just got back from Germany,” Belichick told the media on Monday. “We’ll work through everything. We’ll look at everything, all the way across the board. Not specifically one position, but just look at everything and do the best we can here going forward.”
It marked the third time in 2023 that Jones’ was benched, and it could mark the end of the Mac era in Foxborough. At the moment, Bailey Zappe is the most logical replacement for Jones. The Western Kentucky alum was drafted by the Patriots in 2022 and started two games last year when Jones was injured. Zappe only completed 40% of his passes in the preseason and was eventually cut before rejoining the team.
“Bailey’s had some opportunities,” Belichick said on Monday morning. “I think he’s prepared well every week, and we called on him at the end of a couple games — three games, I guess it was. I think he stepped in and did the best he could. Was it perfect? No. Were there some positive things? Yes.”
Along with Bailey Zappe, the Patriots have two other quarterbacks on their roster. Rookie Malik Cunningham and veteran Will Grier. Cunningham is currently on the Patriots practice squad. The undrafted quarterback took six snaps against the Raiders in Week 6 but was waived shortly after.
Along with Cunningham, Will Grier could be another option the Patriots turn to if Jones is permanently benched.
“Will’s certainly improving every week in terms of understanding and working with his teammates, and running the scout team and executing the plays that he has the opportunity to,” he said. “There’s just not a lot of opportunities for that, right now — the third position, which is where he’s been. But he’s taken advantage of the ones that he’s had.”
The Patriots will certainly use the bye week to assess the quarterback position. Their next game will occur on Sunday, Nov. 26, against the New York Giants.
My name is Ben Belford-Peltzman and I am the creator and writer of The Patriots Beat. I am a 17-year kid who is an optimistic pessimist about the City of Champions. I started The Patriots Beat in August of 2022 and never expected to grow so much but here we are. Feel free to email Thepatriotsbeat@gmail.com with any inquires.
